The Lonely Soul
by apk493
Summary: One-Shot. Sometimes you venture to be alone, but sometimes you find so much more! This is the story of a teenager who goes camping to seek solitude, but ends up finding much more than a just friend. This is rated M, for lemons and adult themes. Not mature enough, don't read. MHuman X FPokemon, OCxLucario. First fanfic on here, reviews help!


**A/N: I'll start with the disclaimers: Pokémon is owned by Nintendo and Game Freak. All other story elements including plot and characterization belong to me.**

**Note that this is a Lemon. If you're not mature enough to read this, then don't do it. That being said, I understand this is a long one-shot. I put development into this, so don't expect just straight smut. Lemon is at the end, but I advise in reading the whole thing.**

**This is my first fic on here, so please read and review. No flames; that kind of stuff doesn't help. **

**Enjoy.**

* * *

I made my way through the dense forest, pushing brush out of my way as I searched for a clearing to set up camp. It was early in the morning, and a layer of fog covered the trees so that visibility cut to about 20 feet. I hadn't let that stop me, however, as I had planned this solo trip for a couple of weeks. I needed some relief from the busy lifestyle that consumed my life at home, and the easiest way was to take a weekend trip up into the forest on the face of the nearby mountain range. I needed some time by myself, just the wilderness and I. Very few people ever ventured into the woods alone, or even in small groups. Some were just plain scared of the forest, and all the wild Pokémon that inhabited it. Natural disasters and uncommon noises blamed on packs of various species, although it was often benign activity. I once heard what sounded like explosions on one of my trips, but I instead found it to be a pack of wild Mightyena building their strength by slashing down trees. After that, I mostly disregarded any sudden noise from the forest.

I knew about a clearing by a river that ran down the mountain. That was what I was looking for. The clearing was set right beside a waterfall that dropped into a pool of water before continuing down river. For someone who enjoys nature, it's a peaceful place. I preferred to meditate on a rock in the river, just below the falls. It is usually distinguished by the mist caused by the crashing water, but with the layer of fog the usual mist was hidden. After I had walked another half mile or so, I started recognizing natural landmarks that told me I was close. A giant boulder, a moss-covered fallen tree, and more were ways to orient myself with my mental map of the area.

I noticed the trees begin to thin out, and realized I was approaching the clearing. The sun was beginning to burn off some of the fog, but the expanse was still mostly obscured.

I was about to drop my backpack and begin setting up my tent when a voice rang out, "Leave this place, immediately!" It was a stern, feminine voice, and I saw a silhouette of the person when I looked up in the direction of the warning. It was almost six feet high, about the same height as me, and roughly humanoid.

I was not going to be scared off from _my_ meditating spot that easily. I shouted a challenge back to the person, "Who says this is your place? I've been here for years, and I'm not going to just relinquish it that quickly." My voice was slightly contemptuous, and slightly cocky.

I was about to yell again when I heard a "Huuuagh!" and saw a blue ball of light fly through the air toward me. I barely jumped out of the way, and the ball sped into a tree, splintering the front of the trunk.

"You _will_ leave this place!" The voice yelled again, more blue spheres flew through the air, and I saw the silhouette start to walk closer to me. I didn't know what the spheres were, and I didn't take any chances. I tried to dodge them all, but the last one judge brushed the edge of my torso. I flew backward, but somehow managed to stay on my feet. Another ball launched at me, but this time I would have no time to dodge it. I desperately aimed a punch at the ball of energy; there was nothing else I could do. As my fist connected, the ball of light deflected and flew out of my vision, with an accompanying splinter of wood to tell that it too found a tree.

"Fool!" I watched in stunned silence as a rod formed in front of me, the same color as the spheres of energy before, with the tips shaped like the ends of a bone. Another sphere appeared, and the rod connected with it, sending it flying at me faster than the others. _'Can't dodge this one, it's too fast!' _I thought, and I reached up to smack the ball away. Again, it was deflected away from me. That time, my hand stung. I had no clue what this blue energy was, but I was glad I could hit it.

The voice shouted again, with more fury, "I am done with this game!" With that, the rod came flying at me. As I brought my hands to my face, they closed around a cylindrical object. I looked, and was surprised to be holding the same blue rod as before. I looked up, and the figure must have been surprised as well, for there was the beginning of another blue sphere forming around her. I heard the figure mutter under her breath, "How is he doing this?" I couldn't answer as the ball came flying at me. I held the rod like a bat, and swung heavily at the incoming energy. I felt it connect, with the vibration running up the length of the rod. The blue orb rushed back at the silhouette, and she was flung backward with an "Aah!"

I dropped the rod, and it disintegrated on contact with the ground. I rushed the attacker, and jumped on her, pinning her arms and legs the ground. I was about to launch the questions boiling in my mind, before I looked at exactly who was under me.

My jaw dropped slightly as I stared a Lucario straight in the face. Her red eyes were glaring at me, almost squinting, and her mouth was drawn into a scowl. She was breathing heavily, but so was I.

She spoke, "You strike me, and you will regret it." It was the same cool tone as before, but now she was calm.

"It doesn't look like you're in the place to make threats," I replied, barely mocking her.

"Get off." A bit more aggression now.

"Fine. But you're done attacking me." I slowly got off her, and stood up. I offered her my hand, ever the gentleman.

She reached up to take it, but instead yanked me back on the ground. In a flurry of limbs, it was my turn to be on pinned on my back.

"How did you do that?" She asked immediately. It was a forceful question, but it wasn't menacing.

"Do what?" I replied. I was confused, and had a female Lucario on top of me throwing questions.

"You know what I'm talking about. How can you control it?" She stared straight into my eyes.

I was done having no clue what was going on. I lost it. "How the hell do I know what you're talking about? I walk into my campsite and get attacked by a Lucario, then interrogated as if I have secret information! I think you're the one who owes some explanations here!"

I picked up my knee, right under her chest and, mindful of the spike, and threw her off me. I got up instantly, and she picked herself up almost as fast.

"You can control aura! I just watched you do it!" She was pointing straight at me.

So that's what the blue orbs were. Aura Spheres. "What? No I can't. You're the aura Pokémon! And you're the one who started launching aura spheres at me when I walked into the clearing!" I was beginning to get flustered. Fortunately, I knew a few things about aura. _'It's impossible for a human to control aura. Right?'_

She came up, took me by the shoulders, and pushed me against a tree. Even though Lucario were smaller than humans, she was standing just shorter than me. And I am 6'1". She stared at me.

"I saw you! You could deflect my aura spheres, and caught and wielded my Bone Rush! That's how I ended up on the ground, remember?" She was looking right at me, the earlier aggression replaced with a desperate curiosity. "I've never seen a human wield aura before!"

I held my hands up, playing the innocent guy. "Honestly, I've never even seen aura before. I have no idea how I did it!" I was being sincere. I then tried to break the mood a bit, "I did beat you though, huh?"

Her eyes lost their intensity at that point. I realized immediately that I struck a chord, and instantly regretted it.

"Arceus, damn it! No wonder I'm alone! I can't even beat up a human!" She shoved me back against the tree, then turned and ran to the edge of the river, which was just becoming revealed as the fog cleared up ever so slowly.

"Wait, what? Hey, hold on!" I ran over and sat next to her, our legs hanging over the side of the river bank. She was sobbing quietly into her paws. "What was that about?" I tried to ask her as softly as I could.

She slowed her tears a bit, and managed to explain, "I'm the most worthless, lonely Lucario on this whole damn mountain! I can't even defeat you with aura, what good is that? A Lucario that can't control aura. No wonder they all left me behind."

By now, I was uncomfortable. I somehow managed to control aura and beat a Lucario with it, and now her emotions were falling apart. I felt bad, and at least partly responsible.

"Hey, wait a second. Ever consider that I just got lucky? I didn't even know what was going on, and the fog was dense. You obviously can control your aura, at least better than me. I barely even know what aura is." I realized that my words weren't very comforting, but I couldn't think of anything better. "And what do you mean you're alone? Who would leave you?"

"Why do you think I'm here by myself, in this clearing, when this whole forest is filled with packs and herds of Pokémon?" she asked. "Look at me," her voice was regretful, "my pack left me when I was still a Riolu because of this." She held out her arms, as if she was presenting something to me.

The fog was almost gone now, but how I managed to miss it before was ridiculous. Her arms and legs were a deep gold, and her chest and torso a light blue. I stared for a few seconds at the shiny Lucario sitting in front of me before she began again.

"My parents left me behind, alone, because of my coloring. I woke up one morning and my entire tribe was gone. Just disappeared. Siblings, friends, everyone. I knew they were going to leave me, I could hear them whispering with the other leaders in the tribe about me. They said it was because I stood out. I would attract unwanted predators and trainers. They said it was the best for our group."

"After a couple of days of self-pity, I decided to survive on my own. Predators forced me to evolve after a while, but I still have very weak control over aura. I tried to recall lessons that the tribe elders taught to newly evolved Lucario, but I just suck at it. I've never found a mate or anyone else that has stuck beside me." She said wistfully. She paused, and I decided it was my turn to speak up.

"Well, you obviously don't suck, because you scared me halfway to the Distortion World when you attacked me. You seemed pretty powerful to me." My words were sincere, but she didn't seem to think so.

The Lucario just looked away and stared out into the river. Tears started to fall down her face again, so I decide to try something else. I reached over and pulled her into a hug. At first, she tensed up.

"What are you doing?" she said, surprised by the sudden contact.

"Well, if words aren't going to help you, then maybe actions will." I hadn't released her, and I wasn't going to until she hugged back. She sighed, closed her eyes, laid her head on my shoulder, and gently returned the hug. I didn't let go until I felt the tears stop falling.

"I never did get your name. Do you have one?" I tried to ask as gently as I could.

"Yes. My name is Arya." She raised an eyebrow. "Yours?"

"I'm Aaron." I stuck out my hand in attempt of a handshake, and she brought up her right paw and took it.

"Well, Aaron, you never did tell me why you are here in the first place. Not many humans travel out this far, you know."

"Yeah, that's partly why I love it here. I visit this place every so often, it's a great meditating spot. Helps clear my mind when things get busy at home." I tried to sound earnest, because it was all true.

"No way, I come here to meditate as well," Arya replied, sounding surprised. "I use a rock in the middle of the river, just a bit farther up from here."

"I prefer to use the one right out there." I pointed out across the bank, where a large boulder stood out against the current beneath it. "It's comforting, with the wilderness all around you."

Arya nodded. "I understand. But I think my cluster of rocks is a bit better. Come on, I'll show you." At that, she stood up and went to the cliff, right next to the waterfall. I was surprised, usually meditation was a solitary thing, and people rarely share their spots with others. Regardless, I got up and followed her.

"How good are you at jumping?" she asked me as I approached the rock face.

"Not bad. Why?" I looked at her with confusion.

"My spot's up here." With that, she jumped to the top of the cliff in one leap, and looked back down at me. It wasn't a large cliff, but it was way too high for me to jump in one go.

"Not that good, though." I shook my head in amusement, and went to climb around the edge of the rock face, where a hill made the top accessible.

When I got there, I found Arya in the middle of the river, right before the current picked up and rushed over the edge of the falls. She was standing on a rock, too, with another one next to it.

"Come on, join me." She smiled a bit and patted the rock next to her. The sun had cut through the fog by now, and was shining brightly on the river and surrounding forest. I waded my way over to her and took a seat on the rock next to her. It was warm from the sun, and was pleasant to rest on.

"Your welcome to meditate with me," Arya offered, and she settled down and closed her eyes, making peace with her mind.

'_Don't mind if I do,'_ I thought to myself, smiling at her and closing my eyes as well.

For a few minutes all I heard was the water brushing against the rock, the crash of the falls, and the songs of the nearby Pidgey, Fletchling, and Taillow. I was at peace with myself and the world around me, and I finally felt the reward of traveling out here.

Suddenly, Arya's voice broke the silence, although no words were spoken. _"Did you know that Lucario can use telepathy, too?"_ It sounded soft and mystical, almost as if imagined.

I almost jumped off my rock from the sudden noise, especially from inside my head.

"No. But I guess I do now. That's a pretty cool ability to have." I replied out loud, as I had no clue how to reply to telepathy.

_"I'll have to teach you sometime, before you leave."_ Somehow, I could feel her satisfaction of knowing something I didn't. _"We can communicate pictures and emotions too. Open your mind, and look."_

I relaxed, and before I could think, an image of the backs of two figures on a river appeared in my mind. I recognized that it was Arya and I. The sun was just above the horizon, and painted the cloudless sky with a combination of reds, pinks, and oranges. The shadows of the nearby tree line did nothing to dampen the colors of us. Something else different, I realized, were the rocks the two of us were sitting on. In relation to each other, we were much closer than on our rocks in reality, so close we almost touched shoulders. I also felt the warmth and happiness coming from her. Glad that she was no longer depressed, I was happy in return.

We stayed like that for a long time. I began to feel the image warm up, too, even though the sun wasn't any more intense. Just as the picture was fading away, I thought I saw the Lucario in the figure reach out and take the other's hand, but the image was gone from my mind before I could think about it. I opened my eyes, and seeing that the sun was directly over us, I judged it to be almost noon.

I got up from my rock, and looked down at Arya. "Well, it's about noon, so I'm going to make my lunch. You're welcome to join me if you want to."

She opened her eyes and looked up. "I'd love to, but I don't have any food to eat with you."

"Are you kidding?" I chuckled, "I have plenty of food, more than enough to share. Come on." I waded out of the river, and began to walk down the cliff face, back into the campsite. She followed, a bit slowly at first, but caught up when I got back to my gear.

I pulled out some bread, meat, cheese, and lettuce, the basics for a sandwich. I made myself one, then passed the food to her. "Here, make as much as you want."

Arya smiled hungrily, then threw together her own sandwich. We sat in silence, both of us eagerly eating our food. I finished first, and decided to set up my tent while she was finishing. As I was setting up the poles, Arya came over.

"What is that?" she asked.

"It's a tent. It's where I'm sleeping tonight." I wasn't sarcastic or mean, considering she probably never saw anything like one before.

She stooped down and felt the material. "It seems flimsy and unstable. How are you comfortable in that thing?"

"I don't know. I've camped in tents for years. It works fine for me." I shrugged. "It won't withstand a tornado, but I don't plan to be out here for one." I got a small smile out of that last joke. _'Point for me,'_ I thought to myself.

Arya was still doubtful, "I stick to my caves."

All that popped into my mind was sleeping on uncomfortable rocks. "Suit yourself. After this I'm going to clean up lunch, then how about you teach me a bit about aura?"

She lit up at this. "Sure! Here I'll help clean up so we can get started." She rushed off to begin putting the food away. I rolled my eyes before I finished setting up the tent.

When everything was put away, Arya led me into the forest once again. Instead of going by the waterfall, she walked away from camp, deeper into the trees. After walking a good half mile, she stopped in the middle of another small clearing. This one, however, was dark and still slightly misty. The trees covered up the sky, so not as much light got in compared to the other clearing. She turned around, and motioned me to the other end of the opening.

"Okay, the way I first learned to control aura," she began, "was by channeling my emotions. It's kind of like meditating, but you focus your emotions into something, either an aura sphere or a bone staff." I nodded, then closed my eyes and tried to think of something.

I thought back to my fight earlier with Arya. I don't know why that was the first thing in my mind, but I went with it. I thought of the confusion, and the adrenaline as I dodged the surprise attacks. I envisioned myself smashing the last ball of aura with the staff that I caught. I heard Arya gasp, and I opened my eyes. It was my turn to gasp, as my hand was holding a ball of aura, just like Arya had done. It was a perfectly round sphere, just resting in my hand. I stared at it for a minute, then thought _'I might as well have some fun with this.'_

I tossed the blue orb at Arya, and although she wasn't expecting it, she caught it with her own paw, then threw it into the air. As it rose into the trees, it broke into a myriad of sparks that gently fell back down to the ground. I looked back at her. "How did you do that?" I questioned.

"Do what? The spark thing?" she replied quizzically.

"Yeah. That was pretty cool how it just broke into the sparks. Just like fireworks."

"I didn't do that." She pointed at me. "That was your aura sphere. I didn't control what it did, I only caught it."

I looked down at my own palms. "Wow. That's really cool."

Arya moved on with the next lesson. "Alright, Aaron. Let's try something else." As I returned my eyes to her, a glowing staff appeared in her hands. "Try making one of these."

I closed my eyes, this time trying to pick a different emotion. I thought of Arya and I sitting together on top of the waterfall. I remembered the image she shared with me, and the compassion I showed her after we met. I closed my hands, and they took hold of a solid rod. I opened my eyes again, and this time I had my own staff of aura. It was slightly larger than Arya's, but it worked with my larger body. All of a sudden, Arya was in front of me, and jabbed me back with her staff.

"Now that you have your own staff, let's spar." She was smiling, implying the friendly competition.

"Alright. A chance to pin you again, sure." I matched her smile, and got into a fighting stance.

She rushed me first, and I began to block her swings with confidence. As she continued, she sped up, occasionally landing a hit on my hip or shoulder. I had to work harder to avoid getting hit. Suddenly, she disappeared, but reappeared instantly on my side. She brought her staff down and swept my legs from beneath me, and I found myself on the ground again, with her paws pinning my arms, holding me down.

"Who is pinning who, exactly?" she laughed, clearly pleased with beating me.

"Best two out of three," I grinned back, and I pulled my foot up and kicked her off me. She landed with ease, and I got back up, ready to defend the onslaught. We continued sparring, and lost count of the score. It was good exercise, and had both of us breathing hard after we finished. After she brought me down for the last time, she offered her paw.

"Alright that's enough for now." She was smiling down, happy with her performance. I took her paw, but instead of pulling myself up, I flipped her over, and pinned her arms and legs.

"Guess where I learned that move?" I taunted, smirking down at her.

"Hmm, my bet is it came from a saucy little Lucario!" She smiled back, clearly enjoying the memory from earlier in the day.

"Yeah. She taught me a lot today." I got off her and picked her up, determined to have the last victory in our competition. As I took her by the torso and lifted her to her feet, she exclaimed "Hey, not fair!"

I laughed at her surprise, "Oh you'll get over it. Come on, it's almost dark, and we still haven't had dinner yet." I started walking back to camp, with her running to catch up.

When she fell in step beside me, I decided to ask her about telepathy. "So, Arya, how does someone learn to use telepathy, like you used earlier?"

"Well, you need to clear your mind, and reach out for someone else's, like the person you are trying to communicate with," she responded. "When I contacted you earlier, I reached out until I felt your mind next to me, and said the words into your presence once I connected with it. It's a lot easier out here since we are the only two around. That, and I was sitting right next to you, so I didn't have to search for your mind."

"Hmm, okay. Doesn't sound too hard," I said, half to myself. I stopped, closed my eyes to block out the surroundings, and tried to feel for Arya's presence. I found something that felt strong, influential, and feminine; I could only guess it was her mind. I thought the words _'So, you speak like this?' _out to the presence.

_'Yes! Exactly like that!'_ was the surprised response I received. _'I can't believe you caught on that quickly!'_

"Well, I'm not going to do that often," I said, this time aloud, and began walking again. "I think it's giving me a headache." I could already feel a slight pressure building inside my head.

"Yeah, it might do that since you're inexperienced. Practice will probably reduce that," she replied. "Hey look! We're back!" Sure enough, we walked out into the clearing, with my tent resting in its corner.

I went to my tent, returning with a small backpacking stove and a container of stew. "This is all I have for dinner. I didn't plan on having company, so you'll have to save some appetite for tomorrow. Can you go find some firewood for tonight while I heat this stuff up?"

"Sure. It hasn't rained in a while, so there should be some dry stuff." She wandered off in a random direction, scanning the ground for tinder and other dry elements.

I flicked on the stove and started heating the stew, pouring into two bowls for Arya and I. I watched her go off into the woods, then caught myself staring after her and snapped back to preparing the food. _'I'm not growing attached to her, am I? She is just a rogue off on her own, and here I am sharing my food and practically my whole day with her.'_ I shook the thought from my head, and focused on the food. When it was ready, Arya had a large pile of wood for the fire. "Sweet. That's a solid amount of fuel we got there. We're probably not going to use it all, but it will certainly serve us and the next guy." She lit up at my complement, and sat down to begin eating her stew. The meal was again nearly silent, with the occasional awkward glance at each other.

As we finished up the meal, I cleaned up quickly and started building the fire. The sun had almost set and I didn't want to be caught in the dark, although I was sure Arya could have made an aura light or something. The fire lit quick enough, with her prediction holding true; the wood was dry and caught instantly. It wasn't a large fire, but it didn't need to be. I had spotted storm clouds on the horizon earlier, although I figured I'd be in my tent before it started. I brought over a log, and motioned for Arya to sit next to me. Our bodies glowed in the firelight, the flames flickering and creating a natural lantern for us.

I didn't want to sit in silence, so when Arya asked to know more about myself, I gladly obliged. I told her how my parents owned a cabin farther down the mountain but hardly ever used it, and how I used it as a home base for my trips deeper in the forest. I told her how I'd been camping by myself for years, always taking opportunities when school let out. I was going to begin a story of first finding the clearing we were sitting in, but a _BOOM _of thunder crashed just as I was about to start.

"Eeep!" Arya almost jumped off the log, and I stood up, ready to move back into my tent for the night. It started raining, much more than a calm drizzle, and lightning lit up the thick clouds covering the night sky.

"Shit, I thought we had more time before that storm moved in. Come on, follow me into my tent!" I ran over to my only source of cover, with Arya right behind me. I pulled open the door and let her in first. I looked back to make sure the fire was out, and saw that the rain had pelted it down to a low ember. I turned around and saw Arya sitting in the middle of my tent, looking embarrassed and awkward. The rain fell harder, and the wind shook the trees.

"Well, I know you mentioned that you like to sleep in caves, but I think you're probably better of here for now instead for looking for one now."

She nodded, but looked confused. "How do you expect to sleep comfortably in here?" she asked. "Surely you're not sleeping on that." She pointed to my backpack, lying in a corner.

"Hah, no, there's no way I'd sleep on that thing. Here I'll show you." I went over and pulled something rolled up in a cylinder out of the bag, and brought it back over to us. I opened the top, brought out a corner of fabric, and offered it to her. "Here, pull." I pulled the bag toward me, but she overestimated the force it took, and ended up on her back with a sleeping bag covering her.

She sat up, then shot a glare at me. "What is this thing?" She threw it back at me.

"It's my bed for the night. Watch." I reached over to my pack and pulled out a pad, which inflated when I opened the air valve. I set it on the ground, then spread the sleeping bag over it, opening it enough to show Arya the lined inside. "See? It's fine. The inside is lined with Mareep wool so it's warm."

She glanced from the sleeping bag to my backpack, then back at me. "I'm assuming you don't have an extra one, huh?"

I shrugged. I wouldn't have needed one. "No I didn't. Like I said before, I wasn't expecting to have a cute girl spend the night with me." I could see her blush from that statement, even in the near-dark. "You'll just have to share mine and sleep with me. Unfortunately, that's the best I can do."

"That doesn't look nearly big enough to fit both of us," she pointed to the folded up bag, which was, of course, meant for only one person.

"Well, it's not cold tonight, so it doesn't have to cover us completely. We'll just unfold it and lay on it. Luckily the pad is big enough for two people." She still didn't look convinced, but we'd have to work with it.

"Look away please, I need to change out of the clothes from today." She averted her eyes while I changed into my sleeping shorts, but I could still see the smile on her face. "And wipe that smirk off your face while you're at it!" That just made it bigger.

"Alright, you're good. There's no sense in staying up any later, so we might as well go to sleep." She saw that I had no shirt on, and had a concerned, questioning look on her face.

"And your shirt?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I haven't slept with one on for years." I looked at the steel chest spike, and shivered. "Just watch the spike on your chest. If I wake up with a hole in my torso, I'm drowning you in the river before I bleed out." That got us both laughing as she slid next to me on our makeshift bed.

"Don't worry, I have a layer of aura over it so it doesn't hurt you. It will feel like it's just fur there." I wasn't completely convinced, and my face must have reflected it. "Trust me," she said.

I sighed and laid down on my back. She got down next to me. I looked up through the top of the rain fly on the tent, which was clear, so someone could see the night sky. All that could be seen now was the rain and the intermittent lightning strikes. Arya followed my gaze to the top of the tent.

"Are you sure we are safe in here? It doesn't look that solid, especially with the wind."

I pulled her a little closer, into a pseudo-hug. "I'm sure. You're just as safe as if you were in a cave." I wrapped an arm around her, and she snuggled a bit closer. She laid her head on my shoulder, and folded her arms on my chest.

"Thank you for letting me spend the day with you," she murmured as we fell asleep. "I've been happier today than I have been in a long time."

That made me feel good inside, and I knew I had made the right decision to let her stay the night with me. "You're welcome. I'm glad that you enjoyed yourself today." I paused, then reached out through telepathy, _'Goodnight, Arya.'_ She just hummed her response as we both fell asleep, with the rain and wind all around us outside.

* * *

_The next day…_

I was the first to awake in the morning, and Arya was still resting on my shoulder. I didn't want to move and accidentally wake her up, so I resolved to look up at the sky. All I could see was a pale blue expanse, with only a few small clouds. _'I'm glad it stopped raining,' _I thought to myself, _'It would have been a pain to pack up and walk back in the rain.'_

Arya stirred next to me, then slowly opened her eyes and gave a huge yawn. She sat up, freeing me, and looked around at the tent. _'She must have forgotten where she was,' _I thought.

_'Yeah, but now I remember,' _was my answer, from her telepathically. I looked over, and she was smiling. "What are you doing today?" she asked, this time out loud.

"Well, today I'm going to head home eventually." She frowned when I said it, and I felt a little sad myself. We had become good friends over the past day, and she taught me a lot about aura. "I will stay and meditate with you on top of the waterfall, if you'd like," I offered, trying to cheer up not only her, but myself too.

"Of course!" She was smiling again. I was beginning to get attached to that smile. "You're certainly welcome to join me. Come on, while the sun stays out!" She unzipped the door, and ran out of the tent.

_'I don't think it's going to disappear,' _I thought to myself sarcastically.

_'Shush.' w_as the reply I got.

I climbed out of the tent, and stood up with a groan. All of our sparring yesterday had left its marks. I climbed the hill to the rocks upriver of the waterfall again, and found her already meditating on her rock. I joined her, and allowed the shining sun to bathe me in warmth once again. All the while, I tried to keep my mind at peace. One thought kept finding its way into my mind, though. _'You should ask her to go with you,' _an interior voice repeated. And it wouldn't go away, no matter how hard I tried to block it out.

After an hour or two, I rose from my spot, and headed back to my campsite. As I left the water, Arya stood up, and followed me back to the clearing.

"What are you going to do now?" she asked as I approached my tent and pulled out my backpack. I could tell from her voice that she already knew the answer, and that she was upset about the inevitable.

"Well, I'm going to pack up my stuff and head out of here. My cabin is an hour or so hike from here, and I want to be back in the afternoon. I didn't bring anymore food except for breakfast. Here," I threw her a granola bar. She looked at it for a minute, then decided it was worth eating. She sat a distance away, watching me as I rolled up my sleeping back and pad, tore down my tent, and packed everything into my backpack. When I was ready to leave I walked over and stood face to face with her, for what could have been the last time.

"I'll miss you once you leave." The words were laden with the sadness she was feeling in her heart. I could feel it too, like it was pulsing from her aura. It looked like she might cry.

I decided that the burning question wasn't going to wait any longer. "Before I leave, you have a decision to make."

One of her ears twitched, and she looked confused.

I didn't give her time to question me. I gazed into her ruby eyes, and asked, practically pleading, "Would you like to come back and stay with me?" I offered my hand, a simple motion of companionship. I was almost afraid of what her answer could be, but I let go of my unconsciously held breath when she lit up like the fire from last night.

"Of course I'll go with you! I'd love to stay with you!" She jumped into my arms, and laughed as I stumbled, almost falling over backwards.

That was answer I had wanted to hear, even though I didn't want to admit it at the time.

"Alright, then, let's get started down the mountain." I let her down, since she was practically hanging on me. "Just stay close. I don't know how much of the fog burned off from yesterday, and I don't want you to get lost."

She rolled her eyes. "Aura, remember?" she teased, tapping her head. "That, and I live here, too."

"Well…you know what I mean," was the only response I could give. I pulled my backpack on, and began to step out of the clearing. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's head out." Arya followed me out of the clearing and we began our descent to my cabin.

It was a moderate hike. It wasn't anything too terrible, but not easy to say the least. And it was long. It was a good couple of hours until we finally reached the cabin. We were both sweating and breathing hard.

I exhaled a breath, stopping to look at the cabin. "That was a good workout, huh?" I asked Arya, who walked up beside me.

"Phew, yeah. Not as good as our sparring was yesterday, though. We should do that again," she said, her ruby eyes getting a spark in them again.

"Umm, let's wait until later," I answered sheepishly. "I would prefer to keep my furniture intact, thank you."

"Yeah, how much furniture could you have up here, if you only use it as a rest stop?" she asked, mocking me.

"Just the basics. You know, fridge, stove, bed, and couch," I listed off. "The latter of which is where you're sleeping for tonight," I said as I jabbed her with an elbow.

"Hey, watch it!" I rolled my eyes at that. "Oh and no bathroom?"

"Of course. I'm not wild like you," – I received a nice glare for that – "besides we are taking showers before dinner anyway. I smell like woods and smoke. And you do too."

"And how do you know that?" She gave me the glare again, more playful this time.

I lowered my voice before answering, "Because I got to sleep with you!"

"Oh yes I do remember that…" She closed her eyes and zoned out for a minute.

I snapped my fingers in her ear to get her attention. "Hey you're up first. I'll start getting things out for dinner while you're in there."

"Umm…" she started, but I didn't give her a chance. I pulled her inside, set my backpack down, and made my way through the cabin. We passed through a combination living room and kitchen, which had the couch over against one wall, and the stove, refrigerator, and a small table on the other side. I kept pulling her through the cabin until we went through a door into a small bathroom. It wasn't much, but I always enjoyed a hot shower after a camping trip. I showed her inside.

"Soap, body wash, and shampoo are on a shelf on the wall, you can use whatever you prefer. Turn the handle to the left to turn on the water, and pull up the pin in the faucet to switch to the shower head. It gets hot when you turn past halfway around. Does that make sense?" I asked, hoping I didn't go over things too quick.

"Yeah, I understand," she replied slowly. "But–"

"Okay, just come on out when you're done then. Towels are on the right in the closet," I pointed to a small closet next to the shower, and turned around to close the door and give her some privacy.

Just before I left, she called, "Wait! Aaron?"

I opened the door a bit to stick my head in, and I saw her standing awkwardly in front of the shower. "Yes?"

"I don't really…" She blushed a bit, probably from what she was trying to say. "I don't know how to take a shower." She finally managed to get out, in a quiet, held back voice.

I didn't really know how to answer that. "Umm… Haven't you washed yourself in a river or something before?" I said, not thinking of a more suitable reply.

"Yeah but that's different. Can you just take a shower with me? Please?" she had a sensitive look on her face, as if she wasn't expecting a good answer.

My brain, however, skipped to the most awkward scenario possible for this, so it wasn't offering much help there. "Uh… Sure. Just give me a second." I ran back out of the room without seeing her reaction, and changed quickly into a pair of board shorts from my dresser in the bedroom. _'Let's try to keep some of your dignity, huh?'_ I thought to myself. I returned to the bathroom, and saw her switch from a smile to a confused look.

"What are those for?" she asked, looking at my shorts.

I shrugged. "Let's just say I'm modest about my privacy." I replied. _'That sounded really stupid'_ my mind added afterward.

Arya just rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Come on, show me how to shower." She pulled aside the curtain and stepped inside the shower, holding open the curtain for me.

I stepped in after her, and turned on the water. I opened the shower head to its widest spray, so we would both get washed. The water started out cold, something she obviously did not expect.

"Ahhh! It's really cold!" she exclaimed, pressing herself against me to escape the spray. I thought about her chest spike for a moment before remembering what she told me the night before.

"It hasn't been used in a while, that's all. It'll warm up in a minute." True to my words, the water warmed up to a nice, hot temperature, and steam appeared, flowing out above the curtain.

"Oh, you're right, warm showers are quite nice…" she cooed, relaxing and enjoying the warm water.

"Alright, how do you want me to do this?" I asked, not sure how to begin. I never showed someone else how to take a shower before.

Arya looked up at me, and said, "I don't know. Just wash me like you would usually wash yourself, I guess." She then shrugged, adding "I don't know what to do here."

I sighed, then grabbed some shampoo. "Well, we'll start with your head. You don't really have hair, but it doesn't matter." I rubbed my hands together, then reached up and worked the shampoo into her fur. I started between her ears, then worked down to the side and back of her head.

"Ahhhhh," she sighed, "That feels good…" She laid back her ears to allow me better axis to her fur, and rested against me as she relaxed into the motions of my hands. There really wasn't anywhere else to lean in the small shower, so I just let it go, continuing with my work. After washing her head, a grabbed a bottle of body wash, and worked it into her fur the same way I did with the shampoo. I began with her neck, then made my way down each of her arms, taking a paw in one hand, and rubbing up and down her arms with the other.

I then pushed her up on her feet slightly, and washed around her chest, the fur switching from gold to blue. I went down to her stomach, then back up her sides. I was able to rub around the chest spike, right around the cold steel, which caused me to look down at my chest, looking for a mark. After the initial fright, and a quick check to guarantee I didn't have a gaping hole in my chest, I went back to my work.

This time, I rubbed firmly down her back, at which she rested against me again, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me into a loose hug. She gave an almost inaudible moan as I worked my way down, almost at her ass at this point.

I stopped there, my brain trying its best to avoid a potentially embarrassing and awkward situation. It was just a natural defense of mine. Her head was on my shoulder, so I said quietly into her ear, "Okay, I think you can finish washing yourself now." I tried to gently remove her from her embrace, but she didn't ease her grasp.

"Oh, but you're doing such a great job. It's almost like a massage. Go ahead, keep on going," she finished, her eyes still closed and her arms still draped around me.

_'Damn, she really doesn't care where I go with this does she?' _I thought to myself. I silently groaned, then lathered my hands up once again, deciding to get this over as quick as I could.

I started with rubbing her ass, then ran my hands down through her legs and over her pussy, all the while thinking to myself, _'Don't get hard. Don't get hard. Don't get hard.'_ I might have board shorts on, but she was also practically laying on me, so that wouldn't help. I went as quickly as I could over her pussy, and although I tried to move fast, I noticed that Arya held in her breath when I ran my hands over her lower lips. I didn't show any sign of it, but I was super uncomfortable. She could've probably seen the embarrassment in my face if she had her eyes open.

With the most awkward part over with, I continued down her legs. I had to bend down to adequately reach her calves, so she relaxed her embrace on me, allowing me to crouch down. She let out another small moan as I washed around her upper thighs, still close to her pussy. I hoped she still wasn't watching me, because I could feel the redness in my cheeks. I finished her wash by rubbing down her calves and feet, working between her toes.

As I stood back up, done with cleaning her, she brought me into a hug again, and quietly said, "Thank you, Aaron. That felt amazing." She had a smile on her face, so I felt a bit better about more or less feeling her up earlier. "Now it's your turn," she said, and pushed me back against the wall of the shower.

Before I had a chance to resist, she grabbed the bottom of my shorts and yanked them down. At this point my earlier self-control had left me semi-hard, but luckily she wasn't looking down there yet. _'Yet!'_ my mind repeated. I mentally smacked myself.

She basically gave me the same treatment as I gave to her. She started with the shampoo and thoroughly washed my hair, all the while staring right at me. She then broke her glance, and cleaned down my arms, chest and back.

I held my breath when I realized she was going for my crotch next. She wasn't as quick as I was, and cleaned more thoroughly. The awkward alarm in my head was going berserk._ 'Don'tgethard. Don'tgethard. Don'tgethard.'_ was the only thing running through my mind. It took all of my self-control to not get a hard on right there. She moved on, though, and I let out a mental sigh. She finished up with cleaning my legs and feet, just as I did with her. Then she stood up to look me in the eyes again, the hot water just falling on us, forgotten.

"Thank you for this, Aaron," she murmured quietly. She then leaned in and embraced me once again, then did something completely unexpected. She kissed me, right on the lips. Nothing long or sexy, just a quick, soft kiss. I was utterly stunned. She pulled back, smiled, and turned off the water. "I'll dry off, then I'll be waiting for dinner," she said, before opening the shower curtain and stepping out of the tub. I heard her grab a towel and open the door leaving me to my privacy.

To an outsider, I would have looked like a total moron. I was standing in the shower, mouth slightly agape, with a blank stare and shorts around my ankles. It took a couple of minutes before I snapped out of it, but eventually I got out of the shower and grabbed a towel. I went into the bedroom and put on a clean pair of clothes. When I walked back into the kitchen/living room, I saw Arya laying on the couch, drying her feet. I just avoided eye contact with her, and went into the kitchen to prepare something for dinner.

Dinner came and left quickly, with Arya acting like her normal self, pretending nothing different happened. I just stayed quiet and avoided a confrontation about the shower episode. As we were eating, she broke the verbal silence.

"So when are you going back home? To your actual house, I mean," she asked, clarifying.

"Well, I guess I'll go back tomorrow afternoon sometime," I replied, in between bites of food. "I'll need to pack a few things up here, then it's a quick hike to the road. My bike is chained to a tree at the edge of the woods."

"Are you planning to take me with you?" she asked, concerned about being left behind.

"Of course!" I countered, "I'm not going to leave you here. It will be a challenge with a single seat bike and no poké balls, but we'll make it work."

"Yeah, I never liked the idea of poké balls anyway," she finished.

Just then I remembered something I was going to ask her about yesterday. "Oh hey, something I meant to ask you about earlier; have you ever used music as a way of channeling aura? I know you probably haven't heard much in the wild, but it was just a thought."

"Well, you're right, I haven't heard much music. Between wild birdsong and a few obnoxious humans playing loud noises, I don't see music as a way of concentrating," she replied, shrugging off my suggestion.

I wasn't going to give up on that note, however. I pushed "Then you probably have a misconception about music then." I really enjoyed music, so I didn't want to give up on this fight too quickly. "There are a myriad of different sounds you can make. You probably just heard an annoying type from some stupid kids earlier. After dinner, I'll play some for you."

"How?" she asked, "there's nothing around to play it from." She scanned the room, looking for speakers, or something else to produce sound.

I pointed over to one side of the wall, where a sliding panel was concealed against the wood. "Speakers are in the walls. And I have a music player in the other room. Helps me go to sleep sometimes," I explained, standing up and moving dishes to the sink. "I have a song I think you might enjoy."

"Well, okay then. Whatever you say," she stated, not really seeing the same joy I was. She picked up the rest of the dishes, and we washed them before clearing off the table.

Once the kitchen was clean, I brought my player into the room, revealed the speakers, and plugged it in. Before playing my chosen piece, I turned to her and instructed on how to use the song to help her.

"Arya, what I want you to do is close your eyes, and hold out your palm." She did as I asked, and waited for more directions. "Good. Now when the music starts, I want you to channel the emotions you feel into creating an aura sphere in your palm. Kind of like how you instructed me yesterday, but use the music as your source of emotion." I did the same, before playing the song and turning up the volume, so the sound would fill the room.

"I still don't see how this is going to work. The cacophony I've heard before didn't seem like it could carry any type of emotion," she said, still determined to be the pessimist.

"It's like you told me before, with your chest spike. Just trust me." I said softly, smiling a bit at turning her own words back against her. The song started then, and we both quieted down to take in the experience.

The music began to envelop us and fill the room. (Song link: watch?v=ommLyaaLnc8) It started with soft bells and piano echoing off the walls. The setup I had made the music basically a surround-sound kind of experience. More instruments came in, beginning with a solo string player, and continuing with higher voices in the background. It slowly built up, and when it seemed like the song was a dammed lake about to spill over, it dropped back down to a solo instrument again.

The music was like a machine, with the instruments fulfilling their own specific parts. High brass came in to mix with the strings, and I could feel my own emotional intensity building, rushing to my palm in the form of aura. I opened my eyes, impressed at my sphere in my palm, but seeing Arya's own orb as well, much bigger than mine, and still growing.

All of the instruments joined to play the same melody at this point, with the sheer volume filling the room, and blocking out any other insignificant noise. The power of the music flowed through me, and just added to the strength flowing around my hand. I allowed my ears to do the sensing, as the music dipped back down to a lower level, still moving, flowing, and producing feeling. I reached out to Arya's mind, and could feel similar emotions swirling in her as well. I left her mind then, allowing her to revel in her own personal experience, while the music would crescendo once again. I felt a force in front of me, opened my eyes, and gasped at what I saw.

Our aura spheres, mine and Arya's, were larger than I've ever seen them. They had fully enveloped our hands and lower arms, and were growing into each other, two concentric spheres expanding into one. "Arya, look!" I shouted over the music, which was beginning to die down in intensity.

Arya opened her eyes, which widened when they saw what was happening. By now, our spheres were basically one large orb, with our palms on either side of it, supporting it with the energy to stay palpable. "Aaron, I've never had an aura sphere this big before! This is incredible!"

As the music dropped even further, we lost attention to it and focused on the large orb of energy between us. I slowly retracted my hand, and Arya did the same, letting the sphere hold its own for a second. It stayed stable for a moment, then shattered like a water balloon when the balloon breaks, and all that is left is the sphere of water. The ball of aura just seemed to ripple, then fell apart, vanishing as it deteriorated.

As the aura disappeared, Arya ran over and jumped into my arms. I caught her, and she exclaimed, "That was amazing! I've never seen anything like it before. You're right, that music was a great idea!" She was laughing and smiling, clearly pleased that she channeled that much energy.

"Ha, see, great things happen when we work together! We make a good team." I agreed, laughing with her. I let her down, and unplugged my music. I set it on the table, then yawned. "Well, I'm gonna head off to bed. That took a lot of energy out of me. I'm going to change, then hit the sheets. You can either sleep on the couch tonight, or in my bed with me. You're welcome to do either," I announced, giving her the option.

It was one she took instantly. "I'll sleep with you. You're more cozy than the couch," she said with a smile.

"Okay, fine by me," I acknowledged. I couldn't help but think, at the back of my mind, _'Was she just flirting with me? Or did I imagine it?'_ I pushed the thought out of my head, and went to change into a pair of sleeping shorts.

I laid down on the bed, with my pillow behind my head. I wasn't worried about sheets, it was too warm for them. The lights were off, but enough moonlight shone through the window that I could see when the door opened, and Arya came in. She jumped on top of me, pinning me underneath her. She had a seductive look in her ruby eyes.

I tried to struggle from underneath her, but I couldn't move. She had my arms above my head, and was straddling my lower body, my legs useless to do anything.

"I have a serious question to ask you," she began. Her stare faltered, and she looked down before continuing. "Before you met me, I was depressed beyond belief. You found me in those woods, wouldn't leave me alone, and became my friend. You wanted to know me, and you even spent a night with me. That was the happiest I've been in such a long time."

She blinked then, as though trying to hold back tears. She continued more slowly. "You… You've made me a very happy Pokémon, Aaron. I– I have a request for you…." She stopped.

I had an idea of what she was going to ask. I shook off her grip on my right hand, and brought it up to her face. I rubbed her cheek gently, urging her to continue. "Go ahead. You can ask me anything."

"Would… Would you like to be my mate?" She said quietly. She even blushed a little, as if embarrassed to ask.

I looked at her straight in her ruby eyes, not breaking the connection between our eyes. "Will it make you happy? Happier than before?" I replied, not answering her question, but prompting her. The earlier awkwardness I had felt when in the shower was gone.

"Y– Yes. Yes it would," she nodded vigorously.

"Then I would love to." I said softly. She immediately looped her hands around my neck, trying to hug me while I was on my back. She leaned in and closed her eyes, attempting to meet me with a kiss. I closed my eyes too, and accepted her, letting her take the lead.

Her muzzle made contact a bit difficult at first, but she tilted her head, and our mouths locked together. She licked my lips, asking for entry. Entry that I granted willingly. She entered my mouth, feeling all around. I decided to return the favor, igniting a tongue war between us. A war in which she eventually relented.

I entered her cavernous mouth, giving the same treatment she gave me. All the while, I was rubbing her back, until I slid my hands down towards her ass. I gave a gentle squeeze, making her moan into our kiss. It made it feel even better. I released her from our kiss, breathing heavily for air. She did the same before climbing off me. I felt my shorts slide off, and knew what she was going for.

She slid herself on me again, slowly grinding her hips against my crotch. "I want you to make me yours." She said seductively, smiling at me from above.

I gave her another short kiss before answering, "I don't think I have a choice at this point. You've got me stuck." I was also at full mast down below, so my words would betray my body if I said anything different.

She gently slid me into her, until I hit a barrier. Knowing what was going to happen, I told her, "Go ahead when you're ready. It will hurt a lot, so be prepared." She nodded, understanding my concern.

She rose up so that just my tip was inside her, then allowed gravity to take over, dropping herself down and piercing her barrier in the process.

"Ahhhhhh–" she cried out, before I quickly pulled her into another kiss, waiting for the pain to subside. I could feel not only her body being tensed up, but a wave of pain slammed against my mind as well. I reached out to her mind while I kissed her deeply, trying to paint images of soothing pictures, like us at the waterfall.

After a minute or two of recovery, she drew back, licking my nose to let me know she was ready. "Okay, it's not as bad now. You can go," she said, eager for the pain to be replaced.

I started sliding in and out slowly, allowing her to get used to me. She was tight, just as anybody else would be. Her body adapted, allowing me to pick up the pace, going in and out of her faster now. She put a paw on my chest to steady herself as I thrust up into her.

"Oooooh… That feels incredible…" she moaned as I continued. It felt like heaven for me, too. Her pussy was tight and felt amazing as I went into her again and again.

After a while, I decided to mix it up. I stopped my thrusts and hilted inside her, then grabbed her by the shoulders and flipped both of us over. I was on top now, and still inside her. She looked up at me, smiled, then leaned in for another kiss. As our lips met again, she wrapped her legs around my back, and pulled herself closer with her arms around my neck. She slowly moved her hips, gyrating in a circle, moaning while she did her own ministrations.

I began thrusting into her once again. Her moans got louder as our hips met each time. She flipped us over again, so that she was on top, and began to move herself up and down in tandem, bringing her more pleasure. "Go… Go faster…" she said, in between breaths. Honoring her request, I thrust up in time with her going down on me. I looked up at her, and saw she was letting her tongue hang out, completely lost in euphoria.

"Arya," I said between thrusts, "I'm not going to last much longer like this." We were both breathing hard from the intensity of it all.

She leaned down and whispered into my ear, "I want to feel you in me. Give me all of it. Claim me, because I'm yours." At that moment, her muscles cinched down on my dick, signaling her end. She moaned into the pillow behind me, and I felt her juices begin to leak out onto my thighs and the sheets underneath.

I hit my high then, too. I thrust up one last time, hilting deep inside her and shooting my seed into her. We both collapsed, our energy drained from our love-making. I pulled her onto the bed next to me, both of us on our sides, facing each other. I could tell from her mind that she was utterly lost in the afterglow.

I hugged her tight, and whispered into her ear, "I'm glad you decided to stay with me. I love you, Arya. Sleep well."

She pulled herself closer, so that our faces were touching, then said through telepathy, _'I love you too, Aaron. Thank you.'_ All I felt as we fell asleep was the emanating waves of happiness and contentment of a certain Lucario.

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